Waverley expert and author Iain Quinn is to visit Irvine to give a talk on the famous paddle steamer to mark its 70th anniversary.

The talk will take place at Puffers Café at the Scottish Maritime Museum on Irvine Harbourside at 7pm, Thursday, November 10.

Originally built for work with the British Transport Commission and Caledonian MacBrayne on the Firth of Clyde, this wonderful piece of Scotland’s maritime heritage was famously sold to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society for a pound in 1974.

Read More

Over the years, millions have been spent on the Waverley’s preservation and works include a major restoration project in 2003, which returned her to the original 1940s style in which she was built.

Today the Waverley has spent more of her life in preservation than in service.

The most travelled paddle steamer in the world and one of the most successful of all the restored tourist ships that still survive, she gives pleasure to thousands of people each year and her gleaming and varnished funnels, timber decks and brass fixtures are a common sight on the Clyde and around Britain’s coastline.